NetBSD may have found a new role: The AI-free FOSS OS

a day ago by misk to c/opensource

Increasing awareness and adoption, followed by increasing donations
grue 22 points a day ago

Too bad permissive licensing instead of copyleft (even as flawed as GPLv2 is) is a deal-breaker.

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entwine 15 points a day ago

On the bright side, AI companies and vibe coders are going to ignore the GPL anyways, so those MIT licenses are at least on par with it nowadays.

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grue 25 points a day ago

...Hey, wait a minnit! That's not a bright side at all!

(Personally, I'd like to think that the output of any LLM whose training data includes copyleft code ought to be required to be copyleft.)

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entwine 14 points a day ago

Personally, I think any output from these models must be for noncommercial use only, as its impossible to track down exactly whose rights are being violated for any given output, yet guaranteed that's its a non-zero number every single time.

They want it to worm its way into every corner of our lives as quickly as possible so that when a non-criminal administration and congress come into power, they'll be hesitant to prosecute something that touches the entire economy.

Don't let them win.

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grue 8 points a day ago

To be clear, I said I'd like to think all the output should be copyleft. I actually think that, since the training set is a hopeless mishmash of conflicting licenses, it's just massive copyright infringement and can't be used for any purpose at all. Part of me is surprised some judge hasn't started ordering them to just straight-up delete the entire models yet.

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Jakeroxs 2 points a day ago

Indeed it would/does

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AceFuzzLord 1 point 14 hours ago

Biggest problem is proving where the code came from. Trying to pick out what software vibe code comes from is loke.trying to pick out a single hay strand from a pile of sharp broken glass and used needles. Can you do it? I'm sure with enough time you can, but at that point was the time spent worth it instead of learning how to be an actual programmer and/or developer?

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Swedneck 3 points 14 hours ago

and this is why AI code should either be considered public domain or illegal by default, unless the user can prove which code went into the training data.

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moldy_rice 1 point 19 hours ago

I think you're right. Hopefully FSF will win some lawsuits and we'll get all the models made public

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GonzoAtBarstow 5 points a day ago

if I'm reading the writing on the wall right, copyright's days are numbered

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Gladaed -4 points a day ago

Permissive licensing is strictly superior, in my mind.

Why do you want people to be unable to use this software commercially? Should open source not be ubiquitous instead of limited to hobbyists.

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refalo 12 points a day ago

Nothing in the GPL prevents software from being used commercially... why do you claim they are unable to?

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Gladaed -2 points 14 hours ago

You are disallowed from building a commercial product on top of it or tweek/fix it without publishing said changes. There may be systemic reason that prevent that.

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refalo 4 points 14 hours ago

That still doesn't prevent a company from having the option to use the code commercially. Whether they actually want to do it or not is a separate issue.

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Colloidal 1 point 9 hours ago

Nope. You can build proprietary code on top of it, as long as you don't distribute it. A company can create all its internal tools with copyleft code, and it would all be kosher. If they start sending that code elsewhere, then the license kicks in.

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UiUiUiUiUi 2 points 14 hours ago

Creative Commons BY-NC is great for some who disagree with you and that’s the beauty of choosing a license. As it’s your work you choose. Superiority doesn’t matter.

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rozodru 10 points a day ago

I must be too stupid to get NetBSD running. I have OpenBSD installed just fine but for the life of me I just can't wrap my head around getting the amdgpu stuff working. I don't know why.

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dusk 11 points a day ago

I don't bother with any distro that isn't designed to be installed easy. The 1st step should not be a hurdle.

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ikidd -5 points 19 hours ago

Better ask an AI to install it for you.

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refalo 8 points a day ago path: 0 26320808, hotness: undefined, score: 8, children: 8
nykula 5 points 14 hours ago

In fact, it matches two of the "Permissive" criteria: generated code has been merged, and the policy defines conditions that allow such merges (approval by core). The list still recommends various software made by NetBSD developers as viable alternatives to slop projects, where appropriate.

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refalo 1 point 14 hours ago

But how is requiring explicit approval (meaning it's not something that is typically allowed) considered "permissive"?

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Colloidal 3 points 9 hours ago

The wording is weird. But the project (openslop) defines permissive as basically having a path for AI to enter the code. This lumps together both measured approaches like NetBSD's and fully embracing slop contributions in the same category.

I think this only makes sense if you view AI contributions as a taint, something that threatens the licensing of a project. In that optic, it really is an all or nothing. But it doesn't help users choose among the options as much.

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nykula 2 points 14 hours ago
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misk 1 point 13 hours ago

Do those two commits count as “increasingly”?

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StoneStar 6 points 13 hours ago

If people are gonna try NetBSD, please be aware of the "sysinst" command, it makes starting out a lot easier.

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artwork 4 points a day ago

Of course! This is the work of human effort, love, ingenious attitude...
To be respected, praised, glorified, and learn from...
These are achievements to get inspired from...
This is the way to keep such art precious...

There are actual human names on it to keep in the history permanently, respect, and advance further together...

Thank you... heartfelt... dear Developers, Artists, Community... for the ineffably magnificent Art... work you do...

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refalo 4 points a day ago

NetBSD, the only OS where typing ldconfig instantly bricks your system without warning.

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moldy_rice 3 points 19 hours ago

Don't you have to press enter?

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AwesomeLowlander 3 points 20 hours ago

Lol?

I know nothing about NETBSD and would like some stories.

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rimu 5 points 19 hours ago

I just installed it but out of the box it's extremely bare bones. There's not even any software to install more software until you type (not copy and paste, because there's no internet and no browser - type) these commands

export PKG_PATH=https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/packages/NetBSD/$(uname -p)/$(uname -r | cut -d_ -f1)/All  
pkg_add pkgin  

That failed to install the software-installer, there was some error message which makes me think my DNS settings are wrong.

That was enough for me. I've got work to do.

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AwesomeLowlander 4 points 19 hours ago

This is going to be the next Arch, isn't it?

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rimu 6 points 19 hours ago

Feels like hard mode...

I like to tinker and I want to find a usable retro window manager and CTWM, the one they bundle, has great potential. Might take another run at it this weekend when I have more time.

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Swedneck 2 points 14 hours ago

arch is like an IKEA flatpack, this is more like a bunch of tools and materials and a big textbook i think

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nykula 1 point 14 hours ago
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StoneStar 0 points 13 hours ago

That's a lie, you simply run "sysinst" and select "install pkgin" from a curses menu. sysinst can also help you setup a wifi connection and other basic user config things from the comfort of a TUI. But good job in trying to scare people of from trying a good alternative OS.

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rimu 4 points a day ago

Downloading .iso now!

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onlinepersona 2 points 16 hours ago

Don't they still do development on mailing lists? That will keep contributors out for sure 👍

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ArsonButCute 2 points an hour ago

I guess that's probably the push I need to but it on my dc5700s. That thing's been sitting on the shelf undeployed for too long.

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misk 2 points 13 hours ago

I’m going to try it on my ThinkPad X250 this weekend. I managed to install Gentoo with a handbook printout 25 years ago. This can’t be that much harder or am I in for a rough surprise?

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